Beautiful Irish Poem

by Thomas Moore
the greatest Irish lyrist
born Dublin, 1779 - died 1852
Have you not seen the timid tear
Steal trembling from mine eye?
Have you not mark'd the flush of fear,
Or caught the murmur'd sigh?
And can you think my love is chill,
Nor fix'd on you alone?
And can you rend, by doubting still,
A heart so much your own?

To you my soul's affections move
Devoutly, warmly, true:
My life has been a task of love,
One long, long thought of you.
If all your tender faith is o'er,
If still my truth you'll try;
Alas! I know but one proof more -
I'll bless your name, and die!

I saw a dancer in the night
A body tanned a face of white.
I watched her sway in rhythmic geste
Her arms in motion – heaving breast.
I touched the moment of her dance
Her legs transfixed in sensual stance.
I gathered in her smells and sounds
Her body moves both full and round.
And all too soon the dance did end
But I had found a ‘dancing’ friend.

I am taking a little poetic licence here to include this poem in the ‘Beautiful Irish Poem’ forum. However, perhaps we could envisage the girl as an ‘Irish Colleen’. Actually, if truth be told, she wasn’t. Although, she did hail from Chicago. Close?!

I love the way you use words. My undergrad work was in professional writing and now I am in school for teaching--I knew you were a teacher! Must be a lot of work and yet much fun to have a bar, especially with so many children to come and help out?

Yep. Taught English and American lit. for 24 years, at university and high school level. You will absolutely love teaching. High school is best, to me, because the students are alive with energy. Lit is difficult unless you get them involved with the personality of the author/characters.

I almost get as much pleasure out of reading your ‘reviews’ as I do posting poems. You have a keen eye for the written word and it shows. Your students were fortunate indeed to have such a knowledgeable and passionate teacher. Hopefully, some of them were wise enough to recognize that. We are now the beneficiaries of your ‘wisdom’.

Maybe this isn't the place, but here's one I'm working on - it needs some polishing, but see what you think..!!

No Answers

I’m sorry, but you’ll get no answers from me.
Hell, if I had answers, ‘tis wealthy I‘d be.
Questions are many, but answers are few,
And the wealthy don’t share with the likes of me and you..

At least not their answers to how they got rich –
Their secrets of happiness, prosperity, and tax benefits.
Oh, they’ll tell you it’s hard work, perseverance and toil,
“Good luck..?? No way, José..!! That’s just a foil..!!”

But isn’t there wealth in the smile of a child
Who never will live a normal lifestyle,
Who loves without knowing what it is that he does,
Only that it seems to be pleasing to us..??

I’m sure you have questions – you’re trying to see -
All the same, you’ll get no answers from me.

It is the place, right? We are lovers of the poetic form and the poetic form is so underused today.

The theme here is particularly important to me because I see the disinterest of the "rich" as one of the greatest sins of our time.

And why would we ever stop talking about the true beauty of life?

May I comment on the meter? There are some lines that are rough in the sense that they break the established meter in verse 1. Actually, the break from the meter occurs in the last line of the first verse.

The second line of verse 2 also moves into some extra beats that need paring.

Finally, I think there is more to say in terms of developing the counter-verse -- verse 3. And the second line of verse 3 starts a "mystery" that doesn't pan out for the reader. i want to know more about -- Who never will live a normal lifestyle.

Think of Phil Coulter's song, "Scorn Not His Simplicity" and you'll have it..
Yes, the piece is rough in places, a bit trite in some - I'm still working on it..
Sometimes, I think a break in the metre can serve to jolt the reader.. not altogether a bad thing, if done right..
For some reason, I keep going to the sonnet form - can't imagine why... (?)

I have two special needs sons, one 30 and one 25. They are marvelous people. One actually runs his own lawn care service. They are "special" but the problem is that they are aware of the many things they'll never have.